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To the grocery store, up a mountain, across the country or to the finish line--

it's all an adventure.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

DIY Ironman

I've had this idea brewing- and maybe I've posted on it before- but the idea has resurfaced full force: a Do-it-Yourself Ironman. Just wake up one morning, swim 2.4 miles at the local lake, have brunch, bike 112 miles around town, stop for a pastry, and run a marathon on your favorite wooded trails.

A 'certified' Ironman costs around $6-700 for registration alone. Given the accommodations, camaraderie, course design, motivation and prestige you get from an official Ironman, it's actually a good deal.

But are those things worth $700 to me?

Accommodations made possible by hundreds of volunteers are well appreciated, but could it be more personal to rely on a couple friends instead?

The camaraderie of completing an Ironman with hundreds of other athletes who have prepared for the same task is inspiring- but how cool would it be if you could invite your friends to complete portions of it with you?

Enjoying someone's course design is certainly worth the money and enables support features like transition zones, aid stations and roads closed to traffic. But how rad would it be to use your local lake, roads and trails for the big feat?

Plunking down cash for an event might motivate you to actually do the deed, but shouldn't we be able to write a date on the calendar and say that's that?

And prestige? I don't need a medal to show off, I've got a blog to brag on. :)